Integrated Water Resource Management in the Ganges, Brahmaputra/ and Meghna River Basins in South Asia: Prospects andChallenges

摘要

Freshwater systems all over the world continue to undergo natural changes in terms of quantity and quality. These changes are accelerated in South Asia by increases in human exploitation of water resources caused by increasing population pressure andrising levels of urbanisation and industrialisation. Growing concern for environmental degradation has increased pressure on water resources. In many regions of the world, these pressures are intense within national borders and even more intense in the case of international rivers where two or more countries share the same river basins. Growing competition for water resources in international rivers across several countries is expected to intensify the potential for acute upheaval and conflict in many regions. South Asia is not an exception. This issue calls for integrated water resource management and basin-wide development within countries as well as beyond country boundaries.